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Carley Knobloch has appeared on HGTV, CNN, the Today Show, and in Good Housekeeping, RedBook, and more. She and her husband share two children, Annie and Spencer, and a big, wooly pup named Marty. When she’s not covering food, fashion, travel, and technology, she’s making instrumental memories with the family (they are all musical virtuosos).

Nestled in sunny Napa Valley, a part of the country renowned for its lush wine vineyards, the sleek exterior of Adam and Tamera Housley’s home evokes a lavish, Tuscan manor. The interior, however, is sleek in a much more modern sense. A smart home system from Control4 is at the helm, allowing the pair complete control of everything, from the media they stream and room-level climate control to home security and lighting— and beyond.

Smart technology breathes new life and luxury into one of the world’s most spectacular railroads. Mexico’s much-loved tourist train, El Chepe, even knows where it is and can share on-screen stories about its surroundings to enlighten and delight passengers.

Although bathrooms and kitchens commonly received most of the makeover money, maybe it’s time to take a good, hard look at some of the lesser-used areas of your home and apply your remodeling dollars towards converting them into fun, functional spaces.

A Chicago socialite’s spectacular 1917 row house has been transformed with the help of smart technology. But its contemporary elegance and sophistication retain echoes of its colorful celebrity history.

It takes a community to raise a house that’s so efficient it produces excess power to sell back to the local utility. It requires environmentally conscious design and construction, plus a bevy of green, eco-friendly products and systems to put a residence on a path toward achieving the coveted Platinum LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environment Design) rating. And, it paints a realistic picture of how technology can play a role in promoting a cleaner, healthier and greener way of living.

Of any space in a house, a home theater probably packs in the most technology. There is the rack of sophisticated gear that processes, amplifies and feeds content to the surround-sound speakers and video projector...

In this retired couple’s dream home, automation is elementary. “I’ve always tried to stay up with the latest gadgets out there,” the owner notes. “I liked the Control4 system because of its simplicity, and the user interface that I could have in controlling the lights myself.”

When Martin Bobak, owner of the Tilted Kilt in Illinois, wanted to make his restaurant an entertainment knockout, he contacted Control4 integrator Procom Enterprises to design an automation system that would add a high-energy, American twist to his traditional pub.

Stewart Vicar has spent the better part of his life collecting Cubs memorabilia and the last four of those years to completing this incredible space. The room is a real-life fantasy zone, including two separate video walls, a theater, an arcade with vintage video and pinball game consoles, air hockey and foosball tables and two separate bar areas with seating for a dozen people.

When a speculative home spans 7,249 square feet and carries a price tag of $15 million, certain amenities are to be expected. Granite countertops-check. Marble flooring-check. Luxurious landscaping-check. But Richard Simis took luxurious living to another level by adding a full-blown, soup-to-nuts Control4 automation system...

"One of my favorite features is that at the end of the evening when we’re upstairs getting ready for bed, we’re able to turn off all the lights and set the alarm without having to make the extra trip downstairs.”